Darkness Unleashed
by Gooey
Summary: Long ago, there was only one known planet to the people of the galaxy, who hated each other. But soon, a darkness split the planet into pieces. Many years later, the planets are falling into each other, and things will go seriously wrong! R&R plz.
1. Chapter 1: New World

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter One: New World

Pop Star is a remote planet, located in the known star system. It is known to be a happy, cheerful place with very little dangers, and nothing ever changes. Residents of Pop Star say there will never be any more darkness. Unless…

Kirby was walking through the castle, looking for Meta Knight's quarters.

"Meta Knight? Where are you?" Kirby asked into thin air, waiting for an answer.

Silence.

Kirby walked on, and came to a door, with a sign saying: 'Meta Knight's Quarters' and underneath, 'Do Not Disturb.'

Kirby, taking no notice of the sign, walked in.

There stood Meta Knight, reading a book.

"Meta Knight? I have something important to tell you. I couldn't tell the king, 'cause he's sleeping, and-" Kirby said, cut off by Meta Knight.

"Go away," he said, sharply, but in a low tone.

"But Meta Knight!" Kirby said, walking to Meta Knight's face.

Meta Knight put his head lower into the book.

"Meta Knight!?" Kirby said, now very impatient.

Meta Knight looked up, his eyes deep red, and infuriated.

Kirby stood there, staring.

Suddenly, black smoke circled around him, blinding all sight from Meta Knight.

Kirby gaped there, jaws wide open.

The smoke disappeared, and Meta Knight looked back to normal.

"You shouldn't have said anything! You shouldn't have told him about anything!" Meta Knight said, complaining.

"Who is him?" Kirby asked, confused.

"Who do you think!? Dark Matter, of course," Meta Knight said.

"What about Galaxia? Is the sword still with you?" Kirby asked, shocked.

"You think I carry around one of the most powerful weapons in the universe all the time?" Meta Knight said, chuckling.

"Do you keep him in Kabu?" Kirby asked.

"_Of course! Kabu has the Warp Star and Galaxia and no-one knows about it!_" Meta Knight said, sarcastically.

"Well, Meta Knight, I was flying around on my Warp Star and then I saw this planet, shaped like a star, except all dark and stuff," Kirby said.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what you are talking about! There are only six planets! There aren't any others! Well, besides from Dark Star, but that doesn't really count," Meta Knight said.

"Well, I couldn't tell the king because he'd think this is big bunch of baloney and he'd tell all the Cappys and the Cappys would make fun of me!" Kirby said.

Meta Knight paused for a moment, thinking.

"This story of yours seems so precarious, yet I believe you… Follow me!" Meta Knight said, running at a fast pace.

Kirby ran after Meta Knight, puffing.

"Come on! You're a Star Warrior, and yet you can't sprint for thirty seconds!" Meta Knight said, still running.

Eventually, the two stopped at a door saying: King's Library: For the King Only!

"We can't go in there!" Kirby cried.

"Kirby, have I ever told you this? _Rules are meant to be broken_," Meta Knight said.

The two crept in and snuck past the king, who was reading a book.

Kirby ran past Meta Knight, who was still creeping, and bumped into a bookshelf.

"Shhh…" Meta Knight said.

Kirby sat under the shelf, as a book tumbled on his head.

"Ow!" Kirby said.

"Shhh…" Meta Knight said again, now next to Kirby.

Kirby picked up the book.

Meta Knight went over to see.

Its cover had the words: The Planets printed on a leather cover.

Kirby opened the book, and read: "Pop Star is a planet located not far from Rock Star, and has lots of a species called Cappys. The Cappys have a fat penguin king, who has no rights to be king at all."

Kirby snickered, and then flicked to a page called: How the Planets were Created.

"Once, a long long time ago, there was two of every person and soul, and they all lived on a planet called The Star Planet. Though, the doubles of everyone hated each other, and soon, the planet's population split into two parts, with a giant to never be crossed. A long time later, a creature named Dark Matter came. Though, he had no double. He was almighty and had no enemies, so he terrorised the planet. Soon, he split The Star Planet into the planets and meddled with time so no-one remembered the old world, but all the people still knew each other. The planets were: Pop Star, Dark Pop Star-"

Meta Knight read, in sudden realisation.

"The planet you saw was shaped like a star, like our planet. But it was dark. That can only mean it was Dark Pop Star!"

Kirby stood there.

"That means we can make new friends!" he said, cheerfully.

"And… that means we'll make new… enemies…" Meta Knight said, slowly.

**To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2: Memories Forgotten

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Two: Memories Forgotten

No-one knew of a time where darkness ruled the land. And yet, in their every thought, the people of Dreamland distinctly remember people they do not know. They remember hatred, but yet can't recall any time they saw these people in their own life. It's like knowing another dimension…

The two were in the castle garden, holding the book from the library.

"Kirby, get out your Warp Star!" Meta Knight said, sharply.

"Where are we going!?" Kirby said, holding out the Warp Star.

"To those planets you saw!" Meta Knight said, climbing onto the Warp Star.

"But I only saw one planet!" Kirby said.

"Well, there has to be more!" Meta Knight said.

The two bolted off at high speed, towards Dark Pop Star.

They landed, and the two hopped off.

"This seems so… spooky," Kirby said, looking at the baron landscape.

"I can't see anybody," Meta Knight said, rather disappointed.

Out of the shadows, stepped a hooded figure.

"No- It can't be…" it said.

Meta Knight drew his sword.

"No need to hurt me," the creature said, taking off the hood, "as I am the one who was from the other side of the planet… the one who was trying to destroy you fiends. Yet, here you are, standing proud and tall, holding Galaxia, the legendary sword!"

The creature looked like Meta Knight, but had a black cape and a silver sword.

"Meta Knight, you were from The Star Planet as well?" Kirby asked.

"I must be… because… I somehow remember this person," Meta Knight said.

"Oh, remember me? The one you hated! The one you despised! I am your dark form! Heh, heh," Meta Knight's dark form (Dark Meta Knight) said, laughing.

Meta Knight unleashed a Sword Beam, aimed at Dark Meta Knight.

"You think that would hurt me?" Dark Meta Knight said, dodging.

Dark Meta Knight whacked Meta Knight with his sword, knocking Meta Knight out cold.

Dark Meta Knight then sent a beam of darkness at Meta Knight.

"Noooo!" Kirby screamed, trying to inhale the beam of energy, which didn't budge.

The beam went on, directed at Meta Knight, who was unconscious.

"Meta Knight!" Kirby screamed, diving in the way.

Kirby was hit by the beam, and was badly injured, but still conscious.

"Too bad there isn't a Dark Kirby! He would've killed you! But you had to come after the separation of the planet! But my minions would destroy you just as easily!" Dark Meta Knight taunted, as another shadowy figure dragged Meta Knight's body away.

"Meta Knight!" Kirby screamed.

"I'll leave you here so you can have a slow, painful death!" Dark Meta Knight said, laughing, and then he walked away.

"No…" Kirby said, following, slowly.

Kirby came to a castle, but didn't see any people.

He walked inside, only to be stopped by one of Dark Meta Knight's minions (Shadow Minions).

"You don't have any business here…" it said, drawing its blade.

Kirby lashed out a kick to the Shadow Minion's face, but it didn't move.

"You dare destroy one of The Dark Lord's loyal followers?" the minion said, gazing at Kirby.

Kirby paused for a moment, and then ran past the minion, at full pelt.

The minion stepped aside, then drew out a boomerang and threw it at Kirby.

Kirby was hit by the boomerang, and was knocked unconscious.

"Heh, heh. Fancy a Star Warrior trying to kill one of us!" the Shadow Minion laughed, dragging Kirby towards another room.

"What? Where am I?" Kirby asked, waking up.

He was in a room with nothing but chains and poles, stretching out as far as the eye could see.

"I've got you know! Both of you!" a voice cackled.

Kirby noticed that Dark Matter was standing in the room, levitating Meta Knight up and down, laughing.

"Now…… hand over… Galaxia!"

**To be continued…**


	3. Chapter 3: Fallen Soldiers

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Three: Fallen Soldiers

The world has changed ever since darkness was apparent. The deaths of many have risen since the rising of the dark lord. There is only one strength that holds back against the darkness. That is, the Star Warriors.

"Don't!" Kirby cried, running towards Meta Knight.

Dark Matter quickly made a barrier of ice that Kirby couldn't get through.

"So, Meta Knight. Are you going to hand me the sword?" Dark Matter said, laughing.

"No!" Meta Knight snapped.

"Okay…" Dark Matter said, throwing Meta Knight against the barrier of ice. "Are you going to hand me the sword?"

"NO!" Meta Knight said, again, almost as if he weren't affected by the blow.

"Very well, then. Dark Meta Knight, if you will…" Dark Matter said.

Dark Meta Knight appeared out of the shadows, and then waved his hands, opening up the ceiling.

There, was the galaxy seen from the point of Dark Pop Star.

"I think you know about the evolution of The Star Planet. How I made it… different," Dark Matter said, slowly.

"Why… would you be working with this side of the planets… Why would you be working with anybody?" Meta Knight said.

"We made a deal, you see. I give them superior power, they work with me. And also, they want me to let all the dark planets to fall into your constellation, so they could meet up with some old 'friends.' It works perfectly for me!" Dark Matter said.

"But why do you look to destroy the universe all the time?" Meta Knight said, again.

"Look… We all have our own goals!!!" Dark Matter said, smacking Meta Knight against the barrier of ice again.

Suddenly, Kirby pulled out his Warp Star and threw it at the ice barrier, which shattered.

Dark Matter made another barrier of ice, this time blocking access outside, while Kirby picked up the star.

"Anyway, Star Warriors. I have mighty powers that I never knew I had… If you don't give me Galaxia, I'll put them to the test," Dark Matter said.

"What powers?" Kirby asked.

"I will make the planets collide again. Your side of the galaxy will be destroyed," Dark Matter said, laughing.

Meta Knight turned to Kirby, and then slowly nodded.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dark Matter asked, confused.

Kirby quickly swallowed one of the remaining ice shards, and turned into: Ice Kirby!

"DIE, FIENDS!!!" Dark Matter screamed, releasing a ball of flame at Kirby.

Kirby dodged, and the barrier of ice melted.

"You won't get away this time!" Dark matter said, as Kirby and Meta Knight hopped onto the Warp Star.

Dark Matter chased the two out the castle, and our heroes flew off the planet.

"YOU WON'T GET AWAY THIS TIME!!!" Dark Matter said, as Dark Pop Star flew towards Kirby and Meta Knight, as though pulled by an invisible magnet.

"What the-?" Meta Knight asked, looking at the planet which was moving towards them at great speed.

Out of nowhere, asteroids started to chase Kirby and Meta Knight.

"The asteroids! They're gaining on us!" Kirby screamed, when an asteroid bumped the Warp Star, sending Meta Knight flying back into Dark Pop Star.

"Meta Knight!!!!" Kirby screamed.

"Go on! I'll be fine!" Meta Knight said, as his voice trailed off.

"Darn!" Kirby said, dodging the humongous rocks.

Suddenly, the asteroids disintegrated, as the planets came towards each other.

Kirby flew upwards, as the planets collided, closely missing the pink puffball.

"Phew!" Kirby said, relieved.

But then Kirby realised something.

Dark Pop Star hadn't moved at all! And the Warp Star was broken by the asteroid!

Kirby screamed as he fell to the ground, and all the shards of the Star fell in other various places.

Kirby walked across the land, kicking every stone he could find.

Then, out of nowhere, a strange figure that looked like a Ninja appeared.

"Hello, friend. Are you lost?" it said.

"Who- Who are you?" Kirby asked, backing away.

"Err… I'm a Shadow Minion," it said.

"Get away!" Kirby said, attempting to kick the creature.

"Don't worry! I won't hurt you! And anyway! I found this blob creature by the beach. Maybe we should help it," the creature said, pausing. "Oh, by the way, the name's Scythe. I was booted out of the castle, sorta."

"Well, c'mon! Let's go and help Gooey!" Kirby said.

"Wait… Me… help you?" Scythe said, backing away. "Oh, what the heck."

The two walked to the beach, but something was wrong…

**At Dark Pop Star……**

"Has he joined with Kirby?" one voice said.

"Yes. They're now heading towards the beach," said another.

"Very well, then. I guess we'll have to kill all three of them."

**To be continued…**


	4. Chapter 4: Sands of Flame

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Four: Sands of Flame

Everyone now wonders… Why didn't Dark Matter put the plan in action earlier? Perhaps he didn't know his power. Perhaps he wanted the element of surprise. Perhaps he didn't have the Shadow Minions back then. No-one can be certain. It's just… it seems so strange…

"How come you got booted out anyway?" Kirby asked, as he and Scythe walked to the beach.

"Well, I had sort of done something wrong, so they locked me up in a cell. I managed to escape, through a very small hole. I figured that Dark Matter wouldn't want me here anymore, so I escaped on a spacecraft I found in the castle. I decided to come to Aqua Star to live, and I landed, but that was when the planets suddenly collided. I made for the beach, and I found this blob which I made friends with. His name was Gooey, wasn't it?" Scythe said. "Look, we're here."

"Hey! Gooey!" Kirby said, running towards Gooey.

"Kirby?" Gooey said.

"Hey, have you gotten speech therapy or something? You're actually talking normally!" Kirby said.

"Yeah, erm… Mr. Ninja taught me a bit while I was playing here on the beach," Gooey said.

"Oh, by the way, the name's Scythe," Scythe said.

"Um… Scythe? What happened to the spacecraft you owned?" Kirby asked.

"Oh… it crashed. But I found this cool shard that looks like a star sort of!" Scythe said.

"Hey! Isn't that a piece of the Warp Star?" Gooey asked, looking at the gleaming object.

Suddenly, a ring of fire appeared around the trio.

"What the-?" Scythe said, looking around. "Someone spilt oil on the sand!"

The ring of fire closed in slowly on our heroes.

Scythe jumped up on top of a nearby cliff, using his high athletic ability.

"What are you waiting for!?" Scythe asked.

Kirby and Gooey floated up on top of the cliff.

Suddenly, small, Cyclops-like creatures of flame rose from the burning sand.

"Where are they?" one asked.

Scythe, Kirby and Gooey hid behind a boulder.

"And where is Dark Meta Knight!? He said he'd be here!" said another.

A familiar figure dropped down from nowhere next to the monsters of fire.

"Did someone call?" Dark Meta Knight said, walking towards the fiery creatures. "Don't you Fire Demons have any patience?"

"Master Dark Meta Knight!" the Fire Demons said, bowing.

"No need to bow. Just find those stupid people and kill them! I don't have all day!" Dark Meta Knight said.

The Fire Demons split up, leaving Dark Meta Knight alone.

"I know you're around here somewhere. Just give me a sign and the Fire Demons will take care of you," Dark Meta Knight said.

"What should we do?" Gooey whispered.

"Stay here. I'll do something," Scythe said, pulling out a dagger.

Scythe threw the dagger at Dark Meta Knight's head, and then hid back behind the rock.

"Hmm…" Dark Meta Knight said, catching the dagger. "Fair enough. Demons! Attack!"

"Where?" a demon asked.

"Behind that boulder. Incinerate them!" Dark Meta Knight said, hopping into his spaceship.

"Hold them off! I'll help you in a second!" Scythe said, disappearing into thin air.

"Wait!" Kirby cried.

"Hello there, Mr. Fire Demon!" Gooey said, licking his lips.

Gooey's tongue shot out at the Fire Demon, and he ate it, turning into: Fire Gooey!

"Kirby, you eat one!" Gooey said.

Kirby ate a Fire Demon, becoming: Fire Kirby!

Kirby spewed a fireball at the monsters, but the monsters weren't affected.

"AAAAUUGH!" Kirby and Gooey screamed, running away.

Suddenly, a Fire Demon was sliced in half, followed by the others.

"What the-?" Kirby said.

"Do you like that trick?" Scythe said, appearing out of nowhere.

"Yeah! That's awesome!" Kirby said.

"How do you do that?" Gooey asked.

"I'll answer that later, but you were talking about a 'Warp Star,' weren't you?" Scythe said to Kirby.

"Yeah, you have a shard of it," Kirby said.

"If we can find the other shards, that means we can go back to Dark Pop Star, right?" Scythe asked.

"Yes… but how many shards are there? And what happened to Meta Knight? I haven't seen him for ages!" Gooey said.

"Meta Knight fell onto Dark Pop Star when we were running away from Dark Matter…" Kirby said, looking at the ground.

"Well, if we don't hurry, the people of your side of the galaxy will die! Hurry up!" Scythe said.

And with that, the trio set off.

**At Dark Pop Star…**

"Master, they beat the Fire Demons," said a voice.

"Don't worry. I found something that might cheer you up!" another said.

"Ooh… a Star Warrior!" said the first voice.

"Like it?" said the second voice.

"I am really going to enjoy this. Heh, heh."

**To be continued…**


	5. Chapter 5: Battle of the Blades

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Five: Battle of the Blades

Before this story began, there were many suggestions of how to perish the darkness. Some said to lock up Kirby, because **he** was the one making all the trouble. Then some other people said to use the power of the crystal that lies in Ripple Star to defeat Dark Matter once and for all. However, these suggestions will just endanger the galaxy even more from being consumed with shadow. There is only one hope…

"Scythe, where exactly are we going?" Kirby asked, as he, Scythe and Gooey walked along.

"To the castle around here. It's probably already been invaded by Shadow Minions!" Scythe said.

"Well, I know two of Meta Knight's friends. Perhaps they could help us!" Gooey said.

"Well, if we don't hurry up, they'll be dead by the time we get there!" Scythe said when they got to the castle, which had dark creatures swarming in and out of the massive structure.

"Is this the dark castle you saw at Dark Pop Star?" Gooey asked.

"It can't be. Dark Pop Star didn't move," Kirby said.

"That can only mean… Quick! We must hurry!" Scythe said, bolting off.

"Wait up!" Gooey and Kirby said simultaneously, chasing after Scythe.

"Who are these friends of yours?" Scythe asked.

"Blade Knight and Sword Knight! They live in the castle!" Kirby said, puffing.

The trio reached the castle, only to find Sword Knight and Blade Knight fighting Shadow Minions.

"Kirby! Gooey!" Sword said.

"Hey, who's that guy!?" Blade said, pointing to Scythe.

"He's Scythe. He rebelled against Dark Matter. He's on our side," Gooey explained.

"Hey, Gooey? Did you get speech thera- AAAUGH!" Sword screamed, as the floor vibrated like an earthquake.

"Did I scare you?" a voice said.

"Who's there?" Scythe said, pulling his katana out. (A katana is a Japanese sword commonly used with ninjas.)

"Another Shadow Minion! What do you expect?" the voice said again.

"Reveal yourself!" Blade and Sword said.

An armoured humanoid creature stepped out of the shadows, bearing a sword of flame.

"You… you!" Scythe said, in realisation. "You're that guy who was always making fun of me!"

"Making fun of you, Scythe? I was just stating the facts!" the Shadow Minion said.

"Shut up, Gwyvern…" Scythe said.

"Ooh! You remembered my name!" Gwyvern said. "All of you… Blade and Sword! All loyal to the mighty King Dee Dee Dee! Too bad we teleported him to Dark Pop Star! All because of Kirby here. Kirby, your king was crying for your help! But no… you were spending your time foolishly on the sands of Aqua Star! Gooey, you slimy blob of nothing! All you do is eat, while your friends die! And Scythe… betrayer of the almighty Dark Matter… you will be fried by my flaming sword. Heh, heh."

"Shut up, you hare-brained mongrel!" Scythe shouted.

"Being feisty now, eh?" Gwyvern said. "My pet doesn't like me being insulted, you know… Crawler… come out come out…"

Suddenly, a giant millipede with fangs and spikes on its back shot out from below.

"Crawler, you take care of the blob, the puffball, and the two swordsmen. I'll deal with the traitor," Gwyvern said, drawing his sword.

The giant millipede shot the spikes on its back at Blade and Sword.

"Kirby! Gooey! Do something!" Blade said, running.

Kirby sucked in half of the spikes, and became: Cutter Kirby!

"Gooey! Eat the rest!" Kirby said.

Gooey shot his tongue out to eat the remaining spikes and became: Cutter Gooey!

Kirby threw a cutter at the millipede, but it bounce off.

"Kirby, on three, we go for the mouth! It's unprotected!" Gooey said. "One… Two… Three!!!"

Gooey and Kirby threw a cutter at the jaws of the millipede, and just like Gooey said, the millipede collapsed.

**In the other battle…**

"I feel nice, so I won't use my sword until you get a hit on me!" Gwyvern said.

Scythe disappeared from sight, and sneaked behind Gwyvern.

"You won't get away that easily!" Gwyvern said, turning around and grabbing Scythe by the neck.

Scythe jabbed Gwyvern with the sword, and Gwyvern fell back, and let go of Scythe.

Gwyvern grabbed his sword, then slashed at Scythe, but missing.

"Hi-yah!" Scythe screamed, as he threw a shuriken at Gwyvern's head.

"No…" Gwyvern said, weakly. "I… surrender…"

The shuriken hit Gwyvern's head, and Gwyvern disappeared in a flash of smoke, but leaving a shard of the Warp Star behind.

"Wow…" Kirby said, looking at the shard. "That was amazing!"

Kirby went over and picked up the Warp Star piece.

**At Dark Pop Star…**

"Bad news. Gwyvern was killed," said a voice.

"Don't worry. And you know that 'Star Warrior' I gave you? Look closer," said another.

"Is this a new shadow minion!?" said the first voice.

"Yes," said the second.

"Then, master, send him right away!"

**To be continued…**


	6. Chapter 6: The Shape of Death

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Six: The Shape of Death

All the planets used to orbit around the centre of the galaxy because of a strong gravitational pull. If anyone were to fall outside the atmosphere of any planet, they would fall into the centre. Some say that in the centre lies a black hole. Some say there lies what used to be Dark Star. No-one can be certain, even those who have lived ages before…

"If I remember correctly, Cappy Town is this way," Kirby said, pointing to a sign.

Kirby, Scythe, and Gooey started to walk in that direction.

"Hey, Scythe, who was that Gwyvern guy?" Gooey asked.

"A general of the Shadow Minions. I was also a general, but Gwyvern made fun of me and tried to humiliate me in any way possible," Scythe said.

"Why does he do that?" Kirby asked.

"I was a general before him. Then, when he stepped into the army, he failed a mission and said it was my fault," Scythe said. "Looks like we're here."

Cappy Town was in flames, and Fire Demons were everywhere.

"Hey! Scythe! You take care of the demons, and Gooey and I will save the people!" Kirby said, running towards the burning town.

Kirby and Gooey reached Chef Kawasaki, who was hiding behind a rock.

"Kawasaki! Are you hurt?" Kirby said.

"No, but those monsters are really scary! And some people are already dead!" Kawasaki said.

"Who is dead!? Who!?" Gooey screamed.

"Sir Ebrum and Lady Like are dead! They were killed inside that house over there!" Kawasaki said, pointing to a house.

"We'll try to evacuate everyone to a safe place," Kirby said.

"We decided to create a second Halberd, after a demon came. We managed to kill it, but we knew there would be more," Kawasaki said.

Kawasaki ran to the Halberd, as Kirby walked to Scythe.

"Scythe, are you alright?" Kirby asked, anxiously.

"Yeah. Those guys were easy!" Scythe said.

Kirby, Scythe and Gooey followed Kawasaki's footprints to the Halberd.

"Who can drive this?" Chief Buckham said. (He was in the Halberd.)

"I can," Scythe said, as he climbed into the cockpit.

The Halberd took off, but there was nothing but silence.

"I'll bring you to Green Greens. You should be safe there," Scythe said.

Suddenly, the sky opened up to reveal a realm of darkness with lighting scattered everywhere.

"Drop them off here!" Kirby cried.

All of the people (except Gooey, Scythe and Kirby,) dropped out of the Halberd with parachutes.

Out of the dark realm, came a dragon-like creature with a strange mark on its back.

"What the-?" Kirby asked.

"I recognise that mark! That's a Dark Shape Shifter!" Scythe said.

"What's the difference between a normal and a dark Shape Shifter?" Gooey asked.

"Dark Shape Shifters don't only change their shape-they also take memories from their forms, meaning they know their enemy's strengths and weaknesses," Scythe said, flying the ship upwards, dodging the Shape Shifter.

The Shape Shifter lunged at the Halberd, and sent it rocking about.

"One of you! Fly the ship! I'll fight it!" Scythe said, crawling out on top of the Halberd.

Suddenly, the Shape Shifter turned into Scythe, and learned his strengths and weaknesses.

"Hi-yah!" Scythe shouted, slashing at the Shape Shifter with his katana, but the Shape Shifter just disappeared into thin air.

"What the-?" Scythe said, looking around.

Scythe climbed back into the ship.

The Shape Shifter appeared again, but this time as a dragon.

It latched onto the ship, and tore the Halberd's wings.

"AAAUGH!" Kirby screamed, as the Halberd fell.

"Darn you!" Scythe said, throwing daggers at the Shape Shifter.

The Shape Shifter dodged, and then spewed a fireball at the falling ship.

"Urgh… the pain…" Scythe said, as he collapsed.

"Scythe!" Kirby screamed.

**At Dark Pop Star…**

"That Shape Shifter is doing well!!" a voice said.

"We should promote him," said another.

"I must agree" said the first.

"But what do we do when he gets to be general?" said the second.

"He gets to destroy what used to be Ripple Star!"

**Back in the Halberd…**

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard.

"The engine's on fire!" Gooey screamed.

"AAAUGH!" Kirby screamed, looking the giant wave of fire coming from the engine.

"The fire! It's gaining!" Gooey asked.

The humongous wave of fire edged closer and closer.

"Kirby! Look!" Gooey said, pointing to a hatch.

The two climbed down the hatch, dragging Scythe along.

The ship started to tumble and the monster fell out, and died because of the impact.

"Gooey! An opening!" Kirby said.

The two tried to get out, but the incoming wind pushed them back.

And ever so slowly, the Halberd crashed.

**To be continued…**


	7. Chapter 7: The Force of Nature

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Seven: The Force of Nature

Green Greens is considered a safe area, but is extremely easy to get lost in. People have been told not to tread in the forest, and no maps have ever been charted. Perhaps this was part of Dark Matter's plan all along. Maybe Green Greens is an important place in Dark Matter's plan. Perhaps all this time, everyone was being deceived…

Gooey woke up.

He was trapped in the Halberd, and there was no way out.

"Kirby?" Gooey asked, prodding Kirby, who was still unconscious.

The Halberd was still on fire, though some rain put most of it out.

"Kirby!" Gooey said, prodding Kirby more.

"Huh? What happened?" Kirby asked.

"I think we crashed. There isn't any way out, and I'm pretty sure that only Scythe can cut through that metal!" Gooey said.

Kirby started to walk over to Scythe.

"Whoa!" Kirby said, tripping over a vine.

Kirby fell onto Scythe, who woke up.

"Hey! Kirby, what happened?" Scythe asked.

"We crashed and we're also trapped! Gooey thinks you can cut through the metal of the Halberd, though," Kirby said.

"Sorry, but these items can only cut flesh!" Scythe said, standing up.

"Hey, Kirby! That vine you tripped over! It's growing from that patch of dirt!" Gooey said, pointing with his tongue.

"Your point being?" Kirby asked, sighing.

"You can _dig_ through dirt," Gooey said.

"But we need to dig through it with something!" Kirby complained.

"This should do," Scythe said, pulling a small plate of metal off the wall.

The trio dug in silence, as if waiting for something.

They emerged from the Halberd into a clearing, then realised that the whole ship was on fire.

"Whoa… those flames are big!" Kirby said.

"Now where do we go?" Scythe asked.

"To the Warp Star shard?" Kirby said.

"And where is this Warp Star shard?" Gooey asked.

"With our luck, it's probably with some humongous metal monster that lurks here," Kirby said, when he bumped into nothing.

"Hey, Kirby! Are you all right?" Gooey asked, waddling towards Kirby.

"What do you think? I've been in a plane crash and now I bump my face? DO YOU THINK I'M ALL RIGHT? DO YOU THINK I'M ALL RIGHT!!??" Kirby asked, rather angrily.

"Um… no," Scythe said, smirking.

"WELL, FOR ONCE CAN YOU STOP LAUGHING AT MY EXPENSE!!??" Kirby asked.

"Er… Kirby… Don't turn around…" Gooey said, gasping.

"I'LL TURN AROUND WHENEVER I LIKE, THANK YOU!" Kirby said, turning around.

Kirby silently screamed, because there was a humongous metal monster holding a Warp Star shard standing there, looking angry.

"Erm…" Kirby said, backing away. "I'll be going, then."

"I am called Robotica. I was sent to destroy you," Robotica said in a monotone voice.

Scythe slashed at the robot with his katana, but the sword bounced right off.

The monster put the shard in a translucent case located on his stomach.

"GRAAA!!!" Robotica screamed, unleashing a beam of ice at the three.

"Scythe! Do you still have the plate of metal?" Kirby asked, dodging.

"Yes! Here! Take it!" Scythe said, dodging another piece of ice.

Kirby blocked a beam of ice with the plate of metal and ate the plate, becoming: Ice Kirby!

"Darn you!" Robotica said, unleashing a laser beam at Kirby, who simply dodged.

"Hi-yah!" Kirby said, blowing ice at Robotica.

Robotica dodged, and then hit Kirby with a laser beam, making him lose his ability.

Robotica stepped forward and shot a laser at Kirby, but Kirby opened his mouth and sucked in the beam, becoming: Beam Kirby!

Kirby shot a beam at Robotica, but Robotica marched forward and kicked Kirby over.

"Any last words?" Robotica asked, smirking.

Suddenly, roots wrapped around Robotica, and split him apart.

"Who did that?" Scythe asked.

"It must've been a tree!" Gooey said.

The three turned around, and there they saw Wispy Woods.

"Hey, um… thanks, Wispy!" Kirby said, patting Wispy Woods. "I owe you one!"

"Naah… He was destroying the woods! I couldn't have let him kill anybody!" Wispy said.

"What about Rick, Coo, and all of the gang? Are they okay?" Kirby asked, anxiously.

"Yeah. They hid in a cave," Wispy said.

Then, Rick emerged from a bush.

"Hey! Kirby! I thought this would be useful," Rick said, giving Kirby a map of Green Greens. "I heard you were getting the Warp Star shards!"

Wispy then gave Kirby the shard.

**At Dark Pop Star…**

"Thanks for the promotion, master," said a voice.

"That's fine! Now go destroy Ripple Star!" said a second.

"Bad news! We'll have to dig to Ripple Star! It's I the centre of all the planets," said a third.

"Don't worry! I know of a way, but it won't be pretty."

**To be continued…**


	8. Chapter 8: Forest Pursuit

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Eight: Forest Pursuit

If the base of Dark Matter's plan was in the forest, then why has no-one seen any guards? Maybe the base is so well hidden that it needs no guards. Or maybe it's just that they're everywhere, and we just don't know it…

Kirby, Scythe and Gooey were with Wispy Woods and all the forest gang, and were about to leave.

"So long, guys!" Kirby said, turning around.

"Kirby! Wait!" Rick said. "I forgot to give you this!"

Rick held up a piece of metal that looked like a shield.

"We saw you getting a bit beaten up back there, so we got this mirror thing from that Halberd and made a reflective shield!" Rick said, handing the shield to Kirby.

"Er… Thanks!" Kirby said, looking at the shield.

"Your welcome, mate!" Rick said, as Kirby held his head up.

Suddenly, out of the bushes, came a hooded figure riding on a giant Nruff.

"Rick! Look out!" Gooey screamed, diving out of the way.

The hooded figure grabbed Rick, and then stormed off back into the bushes.

Another hooded figure came, also riding on a Nruff, but stopped in the clearing.

It raised its arm and shot a laser at Kirby.

Kirby raised the shield, and the laser bounced back at the figure, frying it.

"Scythe! Gooey! I think there are more coming! You hold them off! I'll save Rick!" Kirby said, hopping onto the Nruff.

Kirby set off, following the vague shape of the hooded figure that took Rick.

"I'll get you!" Kirby cursed, whipping the Nruff.

Out of the bushes jumped skeletal monsters that held swords.

Kirby reared away, then sucked in a sword and became: Sword Kirby!

Even better, Kirby had his shield, and he rode past the monsters to the hooded figure, without a single scratch.

**Back in the clearing…**

"Gooey, eat this!" Scythe said, tossing a shuriken at Gooey's mouth.

Gooey gulped it down, and became: Ninja Gooey!

Out of the bushes rode skeletal figures with swords.

"Hi-yah!" Scythe shouted, swinging his katana at one of the monsters.

The monster split in half, and Gooey split another few.

Eventually, the two destroyed all of the monsters.

"That was easy," Scythe said.

Suddenly, all the bones of the monsters rose again to recreate the skeleton monsters.

"What the?" Gooey asked, looking at the resurrected monsters.

"They're alive again!" Scythe gasped.

Scythe then dashed towards the flaming Halberd, holding a branch.

"Hold them off!" Scythe called.

Gooey kept on killing the monsters, and the monsters kept on coming back to life, when a burning branch was tossed at Gooey by Scythe.

Then, Gooey became: Fire Gooey!

Gooey then incinerated all of the monsters with his fiery breath.

**Back with Kirby…**

Kirby stepped towards the hooded figure, which held Rick by the throat.

"Lay your hands off him!" Kirby said.

The monster dangled Rick over a cliff edge.

"Hi-yah!" Kirby cried, lunging towards the figure.

The monster dropped Rick off the cliff as Rick screamed, and then shot a beam of fire at Kirby.

Kirby reflected back the beam with his shield, and the figure collapsed.

"KIRBY!" a voice screamed.

Kirby dived down and caught Rick and floated back up.

The two walked back to the dying monster and Kirby held his sword (being Sword Kirby) up to its throat.

"Tell me. Why did you do this?" Kirby asked.

"We were hired by Dark Matter to guard one of the bases of his plans. He said to kill you, if possible, too. He told me that Rick is one of your closest friends. I kidnapped him in hope to-"the monster said, cut off.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" a voice bellowed.

Out of the shadows, emerged Dark Meta Knight.

"TRAITOR!" he screamed, burning the monster's body.

"As for you…" Dark Meta Knight said, drawing his sword. "Let's duel!"

Dark Meta Knight slashed at Kirby, knocking him backwards.

"Pathetic!" Dark Meta Knight said, holding his sword at Kirby's face.

"I'll show you who's pathetic!" Kirby said, jumping up on his feet then slashing at Dark Meta Knight.

Dark Meta Knight dodged by jumping behind Kirby.

"Where'd you go!?" Kirby asked to no-one.

"Yah!" Dark Meta Knight screamed, slashing Kirby in the back.

Kirby fell on the ground.

"Kirby?" a voice asked.

There was Gooey, who was running towards Kirby.

"Next time we meet, it's to the death!" Dark Meta Knight said, and with that, he disappeared in a flash of smoke.

**To be continued…**


	9. Chapter 9: The Crystal

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Nine: The Crystal

The crystal hidden deep in Ripple Star. It was once used to defeat Dark Matter himself, and it is a symbol of the power it holds. Though, the powers it holds are unknown, and if evil got hands on it, we would all be doomed…

"Kirby? Are you okay?" Gooey said, running towards Kirby.

Kirby kept silent, and didn't say anything.

"Kirby?" Gooey asked, again.

"I forgot to ask where the base here is…" Kirby started.

"Don't worry! We just need to find all the shards!" Gooey said.

"What about Dark Matter!? He's extremely powerful! We need the crystal from Ripple Star, and Galaxia, and the Star Rod! It's no use!" Kirby said.

"Kirby! I found this hatch! It leads directly to Ripple Star!" Scythe said, running towards the two.

Kirby stood in realisation.

"They've already gotten there!" Kirby said.

"I'll lead you to the hatch!" Scythe said, running along.

Kirby and Gooey followed, and eventually came to a small trapdoor.

They climbed down for what seemed like forever, and then they came to a tunnel.

"Is that… Ripple Star?" Kirby asked, looking at the heart shape off in the distance.

"Yes…" Gooey said.

"How did it come to be there!?" Kirby asked.

"It came to the centre of all the planets first. Dark Matter must know of this!" Scythe said.

The three walked towards Ripple Star, and saw the place was completely deserted.

"What the-?" Scythe asked.

"The crystal… It's hidden in that palace over there!" Kirby said, pointing to a palace.

"But what if the crystal has already been taken!?" Gooey gasped.

"Then the place would already be on fire!" said Kirby.

The three walked in, and to their surprise, there was the Dark Shape Shifter, who was in the form of a human.

"What are you doing!?" Scythe said, glaring at the Shape Shifter.

"What do you think I am? Having a tea party with Ribbon here?" the Shape Shifter said, pointing to Ribbon, who was tied up in chains. "This blasted crystal is holding back my power! It is an object of the light, and I cannot touch it! One of you must give it to us!"

"Kirby! Help!" Ribbon screamed.

"Now, now, dear, no time for Mr. Hero today, because by the time he steps near that crystal, he'll be fried to ash!" the Shape Shifter said, laughing.

"Kirby! Eat it! Use its powers!" Ribbon screamed, struggling from the chains.

Kirby quickly swallowed the crystal, becoming: Light Kirby!

Kirby started to glow, and so did his shield!

"You think this will do anything!? What about poor Ribbon here?" the Shape Shifter said.

Scythe kicked Ribbon out of the way.

The Shape Shifter turned into Ribbon, and said, mockingly, "What about me! Save me! Help, Kirby, help!"

Kirby shot a streak of light at the Shape Shifter, knocking him back.

"Uurgh! You scoundrel!!!" the Shape Shifer said, turning into Dark Matter.

"Yah!" Kirby screamed, shooting another streak of light at The Shape Shifter, and The Shape Shifter, again, was hit.

"As dangerous as you are, I am still boss!" The Shape Shifter said, multiplying his form and surrounding Kirby. "You cannot kill me! There are too many of me! HAHAHAHA!"

"Die!!!" Kirby screamed, shooting another streak of light at The Shape Shifter's multiplied form, but The Shape Shifter just dodged the attack.

"YAH!" Kirby screamed again, lashing a kick illuminated with light at The Shape Shifter, who bounced back.

"You call that special!?" The Shape Shifter said, shooting a beam of darkness at Kirby. "You cannot kill me, weakling!"

Kirby held up his shield, which unfortunately, was not big enough for the blow, when suddenly, a barrier of light formed around Kirby, absorbing the attacks.

Kirby did a spin kick, which shot light attacks everywhere until the room was filled with it.

"AAAUGH!" The Shape Shifter screamed, encumbered in the sheer force.

The Shape Shifter disintegrated, leaving a shard of the Warp Star behind.

"Nowadays it seems like everyone has one of these!" Gooey remarked, smirking.

Gooey, using his tongue, unlocked the chains around Ribbon.

"Thanks," she said.

Kirby then spat out the crystal, losing his ability, and then offered it to Ribbon.

"No, Kirby. I think this should be used to destroy Dark Matter," Ribbon said, handing the crystal back.

"Hey, what happened to the other fairies?" Gooey asked.

"Some died. All the others that survived are in their homes," Ribbon said.

"Then why isn't the city in flames?" Scythe asked.

"They all tried to attack Dark Matter, and anyway, this place isn't made out of wood!" Ribbon said.

"Well, I guess we'll be going, then," Kirby said.

"Not as long as I am here," said a voice, coming from the shadows.

"Dark Meta Knight!?"

**To be continued…**


	10. Chapter 10: To the Death?

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Ten: To the Death?

The deserts of Rock Star are known to be dangerous and big, but the scattered rocks will provide excellent cover and places to hop to, if surrounded by quicksand. But within the sands lie something secret. Even maybe something dangerous…

"You shall die!" Dark Meta Knight screamed.

With a snap of his fingers, the four were teleported to a poorly lit chamber.

"What the-?" Kirby said, looking around.

"Master gave me great powers, and those powers will not fail!" Dark Meta Knight shouted, lunging at Kirby.

Kirby dodged as he ate the crystal to turn into Light Kirby, and the Warp Star for safe keeping.

"Your filthy tricks will not work against my might!" Dark Meta Knight said, creating a barrier of darkness around him.

Scythe handed a katana to Kirby, who attempted to slash Dark Meta Knight.

Dark Meta Knight dodged, and then hit Kirby in the back, knocking him to the side.

"DIE!" Dark Meta Knight screamed, approaching for the final blow.

"NOOO!" Scythe screamed, holding his katana out in the way.

"What!?" Dark Meta Knight said, noticing that his sword was blocked by the one of Scythe.

"You will not kill him!" Scythe screamed, forcing back Dark Meta Knight's sword.

"Cheating now, eh? And just as well it's a Shadow Minion who's trying to kill me!!!" Dark Meta Knight said, chuckling.

Kirby stood up again, drawing his sword.

"Kirby, tell this moron to get off me, or I'll get him off myself!" Dark Meta Knight said.

"Why aren't you going to kill him anyway?" Kirby asked, stepping towards Dark Meta Knight.

"A promise is a promise! One on one, and to the death! Unless you want me to kill him," Dark Meta Knight said, laughing and jabbing at Kirby.

Kirby dodged, and shot a beam of light at Dark Meta Knight.

Dark Meta Knight quickly moved out of the way, and reflected the beam.

Kirby reflected the beam back with his shield.

"Hmph!" Dark Meta Knight grunted, absorbing the beam in his sword.

"What the-?" Kirby said, looking at the flashing sword.

"YAH!" Dark Meta Knight screamed, shooting a beam of darkness at Kirby.

Kirby was still frozen in shock, and was hit dead on.

"No!" Gooey screamed, reaching his tongue out at Dark Meta Knight, who dodged.

"If you're going to cheat, I can too!" Dark Meta Knight said, creating giant dark one-eyed monsters all around.

"What!? NO!" Scythe said, slashing all the monsters into pieces.

"Urgh… fine!" Dark Meta Knight said, teleporting Gooey and Scythe out of the chamber.

"Now… the one on one showdown… mono e mono…" Dark Meta Knight said, raising his sword.

"Wha-?" Kirby said, standing up from the blow.

"YAH!" Dark Meta Knight screamed, slashing at Kirby.

"Whoa!" Kirby said, blocking.

"Scoundrel! If you cheat, I cheat!" Dark Meta Knight said, creating more dark one-eyed monsters.

"At least I have some protection!" Kirby said, releasing a super nova of light in the chamber, destroying all the monsters except for Dark Meta Knight.

"Weakling!" Dark Meta Knight said, shooting a beam of darkness at Kirby using his sword.

Kirby reflected the beam using his shield.

Dark Meta Knight absorbed the beam again, and planted his sword in the ground.

"And what is that supposed to do?" Kirby sneered.

Suddenly, an explosion of darkness blasted out of the sword sending everything-even Dark Meta Knight tumbling around.

Dark Meta Knight quickly got back to his sword, and knocked Kirby out.

Dark Meta Knight paused for a moment, snickered, and then took out a walkie-talkie.

"Sir! He's dead!" Dark Meta Knight said into the walkie-talkie.

"No- He's just unconscious. Don't worry about killing him. The monsters can finish him off!" a voice said.

"Okay…" Dark Meta Knight said, teleporting Kirby to another dungeon.

"Now you get out of here," the voice said.

"What if the monsters fail?" Dark Meta Knight asked.

"They won't. I'll insert the other monsters in case," the voice said.

"Okay, but where do I go?" Dark Meta Knight asked.

"Back to Dark Pop Star. Go on, then!" the voice said.

"The monsters, though. They aren't under our control! What if they rebel?" Dark Meta Knight said.

"Then the **other **monsters can kill him!!!" the voice said.

"But what if-?" Dark Meta Knight asked.

"He won't," the voice said.

"Okay. Confirmed," Dark Meta Knight said.

**With Scythe and Gooey…**

"Where'd Kirby go?" Scythe asked.

"And where are we?" Gooey asked.

"A desert in the middle of nowhere!" Scythe said.

"Probably in Rock Star!" Gooey said.

"Did you say Rock Star?" Scythe asked.

"Yes…" Gooey said.

"Well, there's something hidden here," Scythe said.

"And how do you know of this?" Gooey asked.

"Dark Matter told me. And that means Kirby is in danger…"

**To be continued…**


	11. Chapter 11: Transformed

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Eleven: Transformed

Not everything is going according to plan in Dark Pop Star. Shadow Minions are now rebelling because they haven't been treated as promised, and they are relying on the fact that they're the only ones Dark Matter has got. For Dark Matter, this does not bode well with what else has happened.

"What happened when you teleported him away?" Dark Matter asked.

"He was put in the dungeons here, master," said a figure in the shadows that could not be seen.

"Bring him to me," Dark Matter said.

The figure walked away, and a few seconds later, he threw a human like person with black skin, and hair made of flames in front of Dark Matter.

"Hello, general," Dark Matter said, looking at the person.

"What have you done to me? My powers! They're gone!" the person said.

"You want me to tell you where they went?" Dark Matter said, smirking.

"Give them back! Please!" the person said.

"Morphyx, your powers were taken for a good reason.," Dark Matter said.

"Like what!?" Morphyx said, standing up.

"First of all, you would've escaped from the dungeon. Second of all, Kirby might've seen you," Dark Matter said.

"Why was I locked up, and why can't that Star Warrior see me?" Morphyx said, clenching his fists.

"You were locked up to prevent Kirby seeing you, and Kirby can't see you because he thinks you're dead," Dark Matter said.

"Are you saying that you used me?" Morphyx asked.

"We use every single Shadow Minion for a good purpose. And you're purpose has been helpful," Dark Matter said.

"I could've killed him! Why did you teleport me out? That crystal didn't do anything to me!!!" Morphyx screamed.

"Then Kirby would have discovered new powers. He technically still is a baby, you know. Think about it!!!" Dark Matter said.

"Please! Just give me my powers back!" Morphyx sobbed.

"I shall, but you will be banished from this world. I will send you to somewhere that you cannot disturb us from," Dark Matter said.

"Where, master?" Morphyx asked.

"That is not important. I will give you your powers now, as well as a chance to say farewell to your friends," Dark Matter said, leading Morphyx out of the room.

Suddenly, Morphyx started to glow.

"You wanted your powers back, didn't you?" Dark Matter asked.

"Yes…" Morphyx said.

"Then have them," Dark Matter said, as a bright jolt of energy went up Morphyx's arm.

Morphyx farewelled his friends, and then turned back to Dark Matter.

"If you really want to, I can let you spend another day here," Dark Matter said, looking at Morphyx.

"Sure," Morphyx said, smiling greedily.

Morphyx walked into another room.

"Master, we could easily keep Morphyx here," said the figure in the shadows again.

"What if Kirby restores the Warp Star? He'll come here, and he'll see him," Dark Matter murmured.

"We can make him lose any memory of being here in Dark Pop Star," said the figure.

"But he's the only one of his kind around here. We'll have to send him and make him lose his memory," said Dark Matter.

Suddenly, a dragon smashed through a window and burnt part of the building.

A group of shadow minions quickly jumped on top of the dragon, but the dragon shook them off and burnt them to a crisp.

Suddenly, the shadowy figure ran after the dragon, revealing a hood and a cape that he wore.

The dragon slashed the hooded figure with its clawed feet, and then breathed a fire ball at the person.

The hooded figure turned his cape around and deflected the fireball, and the dragon was hit in the face.

"GRAAAAA!" the dragon screamed, struggling.

"Being your superior, I can hurt you any way I want," the hooded figure said, slashing the dragon's torso.

The dragon grabbed the hooded figure with its feet, and threw him at a wall.

"You dare defy me!?" the hooded figure screamed, standing up.

The dragon roared and lunged at the hooded person.

The person quickly planted his sword in the ground, and a nova of dark energy came out of it, sending the dragon, shadow minions and Dark Matter flying.

The hooded figure picked up his sword and it started to flash, charging with energy.

The dragon landed, panting.

Obviously, now it was injured, and it was too weak to do major damage.

The hooded figure pointed the sword at the dragon, and a tornado came out of the tip of the blade, sending the dragon backwards.

"GRAAA!" the dragon screamed once more, hitting a wall.

The dragon hunched over to reveal a strange mark.

"I knew it," the hooded figure said, turning to Dark Matter.

"You didn't have to shake me around," Dark Matter said, rolling his eyes.

"May I?" the hooded figure asked.

"Go ahead," said Dark Matter.

Suddenly, sparks appeared, and the dragon disappeared into thin air.

"Do you think he'll recognise him?" the figure asked.

"I'm not sure. If he sees the mark, though, then maybe," Dark Matter said.

"I doubt he'll recognise it. Even if he does, I'm sure he thinks that the general is dead," the figure said.

"Then we must not let him restore the Star Rod."

**To be continued…**


	12. Chapter 12: Terror, Part I

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Twelve: Terror, Part I

No-one, not even Kabu knows how Dark Matter got such extraordinary powers. Perhaps he stole it from somewhere. Perhaps he created and consumed it. Or maybe he inherited it from someone… someone that Kirby trusts…

Kirby woke up.

He was chained to a crumbling wall.

He then saw a set of chains like his next to him, except they were locked tight, as if someone slithered out of them.

"Is anybody there?" Kirby called, struggling.

An ant crawled up the wall, and kept stationary next to Kirby.

Kirby stared at the ant.

Suddenly, the ant morphed into a strange, black, humanoid creature with flaming hair and a devilish grin.

"Wha-? Who are you!?" Kirby asked, rattling the chains even more.

"It seems I had the worse luck out of the both of us," the strange creature said, walking sideways on the wall.

"Worse luck!? I'm the one locked in chains!" Kirby screamed, kicking.

"Oh, let me help," the creature said, snapping his fingers.

Immediately, the chains unlocked.

"Who… are you?" Kirby asked, walking towards the creature.

"Don't you recognise me?" the creature said, holding out his hand, which bore a strange mark that seemed familiar to Kirby.

"You…" Kirby said, staring at the creature.

"Please, call me Morphyx. That's my actual name, you know," Morphyx said.

"Well, you're a Shadow Minion, and I can't trust Shadow Minions!" Kirby snapped, turning away.

"Then why do you trust Scythe? Is he more… powerful?" Morphyx asked.

"No, it's more that you attempted to kill me," Kirby said, rolling his eyes.

"How about you let me travel with you, and I'll get you out of this dump!" Morphyx said.

"Fine…" Kirby said, sighing, "Deal."

"Then follow me," Morphyx said, running along.

Kirby ran around a few corners until he got to a point where he saw to masked, armoured sand creatures walking up and down the next chamber.

"Copy me," Morphyx said.

Morphyx ran towards the centre of the room, back flipped off a wall, and then landed on a suspended platform.

Kirby then ran up to the chamber, back flipped, and then hit his head on the ceiling, and fell down.

"Don't move!" one of the guards said, holding a spear against Kirby.

Suddenly, a nova of fire came upon the guards, and the guards burnt to ash.

"Those are called Sand Warriors. Avoid them," Morphyx said, helping Kirby up to the platform.

The two eventually came to a place where there was nothing but a hole in the ceiling.

"You can float, can't you?" Morphyx asked.

"Yes, but you go first," Kirby said, staring at the hole.

Morphyx jumped to a small foothold in the wall, and then hopped to another.

"What are you waiting for?" Morphyx asked, jumping to a platform.

Kirby jumped up, and started to float.

Suddenly, the passageway the two came through locked down, and so did the hole in the ceiling.

"This doesn't look good," Kirby said, in the now pitch black room.

Morphyx held out his hand, and it started to glow, illuminating the room with light.

"Can you get through that stuff?" Kirby asked.

"Only if I turn into a humongous beast, and I wouldn't fit here if that was so," Morphyx said, staring at the ceiling.

Suddenly, a giant Sand Warrior stormed through one of the walls, and drew a blade.

"You won't be going any further," it said.

"Yes, I will!" Morphyx said, turning into a small dragon.

Kirby spat out the crystal, and then sucked it in again, turning into: Light Kirby!

Suddenly, a gleaming sword and shield appeared in Kirby's hand.

"YAH!" Kirby screamed, slashing the warrior.

The Sand Warrior didn't move, and slashed Kirby with a sword.

"ARGH!" Kirby screamed, as he went flying through the air into a wall.

A barrage of flame came from Morphyx's mouth, and hit the Sand Warrior in the face.

The Sand Warrior, again, didn't move.

Kirby shot a beam of light at the floor, making a giant nova of energy.

Finally, the Sand Warrior fell back, and Kirby stabbed it in the chest.

The Sand Warrior exploded, leaving ash behind.

"This is problematic," Kirby said.

Morphyx then morphed into a Pegasus like creature with a horn, and rammed into the roof several times.

"Is it working?" Kirby asked, looking at Morphyx.

"I'm pretty sure it is," Morphyx said, morphing into his usual form again.

"It isn't moving," Kirby said.

The two stared at the roof again.

"It's creaking slightly," Morphyx said.

"Um… Kirby?" Morphyx added, "I have something that I should tell you."  
"What?" Kirby asked.

Suddenly, two Sand Warriors came in and held the two to a wall, and the ceiling collapsed, making the room shower with sand.

"Actually, first we should get out of here before we get killed!"

**To be continued…**


	13. Chapter 13: Terror, Part II

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Thirteen: Terror, Part II

For all we know, everyone could've died by now. It was quite a surprise that Kirby wasn't concerned about the safety of the residents of Cappy Town. Maybe he thought that Dark Matter would have been deceived by the disappearance of the people, but maybe it was something else…

Kirby was fighting against the blade of Sand Warrior who was pinning him down.

It was only a matter of time until he suffocated.

"Kirby!" Morphyx screamed, fighting against the monster. "I'll try to get these Sand Warriors off us!"

Morphyx quickly morphed into a giant flaming wolf-like creature, and burnt the Sand Warriors to a crisp.

"Um… Morphyx? What were you trying to say to me?" Kirby asked, trying to get a foothold on a wall.

"Well, legend says that there's some evil sand monster that guards this place, and I think it's going for us!" Morphyx said, morphing into his normal form.

Suddenly, the sand stopped falling.

Or more to say, the sand stopped in mid air, and so did everything else, besides from Kirby and Morphyx.

"What the?" Kirby asked, looking around.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand people have been in here, and none of them have ever come out," a voice said, echoing in the room.

"Who are you!?" Morphyx asked.

"And those who tried to escape had their fates sealed instantly," the voice said again.

"How?" Kirby asked.

The voice didn't reply.

"HOW!?" Kirby shouted.

"Like this," the voice said, when suddenly, out of the sand rose a giant wraith like creature, with red eyes and claws on its fingers.

"Whoa!" Morphyx remarked, looking at the wraith.

"They call me Vortex, queen of sand and wind alike," Vortex said, staring at Kirby, intrigued.

"Then how did you stop time?" Kirby asked.

"The sand chambers are my kingdom. I can do whatever I like with it, fools. I like it that way," Vortex muttered.

"If you want to pick a fight, then we'll fight for sure!" Morphyx said.

"Using this sword, I will slice you up and feed your remains to the souls I have captured and I will find those other two monsters that have been travelling with you, and interfering with Dark Matters plans. They shall also pay the price!" Vortex screamed ignoring what Morphyx said, and drawing a sword.

"You call Gooey and Scythe monsters!? Have you looked in a mirror lately?" Kirby said, swallowing the crystal.

"No, I haven't. And I will never see myself, for I… that's not the point!" Vortex screamed, as a glowing sword appeared in Kirby's hand.

"Fine! Then try to cut us up!" Morphyx screamed, morphing into Vortex.

"What the? How is this possible!?" Vortex said, staring at Morphyx.

"It seems Dark Matter hasn't told you everything. Funny, isn't it?" Morphyx taunted, smiling.

"But I am his most loyal minion! This means you must be lying!" Vortex shouted.

And with that, Morphyx slashed Vortex in the stomach.

"YAH!" Vortex screamed, stabbing Morphyx.

Morphyx dodged, and jumped at Vortex with his sword held out.

Suddenly, Vortex put her sword in the way of Morphyx's so they were both pushing their swords against each other.

"Kirby! You know how I know all of Vortex's memories?" Morphyx said, struggling. "Well, if you stick a mirror in front of her, she'll be trapped in it until the mirror is broken!"

"Why?" Kirby asked, now jumping at Vortex.

"Because she's like Medusa! If you look at her, your soul will be sucked into her! She feeds off souls!" Morphyx managed.

Kirby slashed Vortex with his sword, and Vortex fell back.

"Then why haven't we died yet?" Kirby asked.

"Because time has stopped in the sand chamber, and…" Morphyx said, trying to recall Vortex's memories, "if we escape, all of this would just be a plain memory!"

"But I don't have the Mirror Shield!" Kirby said.

"There's supposed to be a mirror here somewhere!" Morphyx said.

Kirby kicked at a wall, and the wall crumbled, revealing a circular object with cloth draped over it.

Morphyx turned back into his normal form, and took off the cover.

There was a stone, which Kirby moved to reveal a dark chamber.

"Morphyx? Stop time for Vortex," Kirby said.

Morphyx did that, and when the two went into the chamber, there they saw Gooey and Scythe!

"Kirby? Is that you?" Scythe asked.

"Yes, it is," Kirby said, taking the chains off Scythe and Gooey.

"Um… who is that?" Gooey asked.

"Morphyx," Kirby replied.

Scythe stared at Morphyx, and mouthed the word, "You…"

Morphyx smiled.

"Scythe and Gooey, listen up! There's a wraith stuck in time out there, and we need a mirror! Kirby said.

"The wraith said there was a mirror here, but concealed," Gooey said, rolling his tongue around.

"Morphyx? I'm just wondering, but if we get to the top of this room, we'll still be in the sand chambers, right?" Kirby asked.

"Yes, we will," Morphyx said.

"And Vortex should know about the mapping of this place, right?" Kirby asked.

"Yes," Morphyx said.

"Let's go," Kirby said, running out.

While the others left, Scythe turned around.

"What… the?"

**To be continued…**


	14. Chapter 14: Hallucination

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Fourteen: Hallucination

"Just one more step," Morphyx said, struggling to reach a mirror.

"Hey! Kirby? Where's Scythe?" Gooey asked, bouncing up and down.

"He was here a minute ago. Scythe!?" Kirby shouted.

His voice plainly echoed through the empty chamber.

"I'll go investigate!" Kirby said, hopping off a platform.

"Okay, should we shine the mirror in front of the monster without you?" Morphyx asked.

"Yeah! Go ahead! I'll meet you at the centre room!" Kirby said.

Kirby ran off.

"Scythe?" Kirby called.

No reply.

"SCYTHE!?" Kirby called, even louder this time.

"Kirby? How… did you get here?" asked a familiar voice.

Kirby walked closer to where the sound was coming from.

"Who… is that?" Kirby asked.

"It is I, Kirby, Meta Knight!" said the voice.

Suddenly, Meta Knight appeared and the walls turned blood red.

"No… it can't be!" Kirby said, backing away.

"Kirby?" Scythe's voice said, ringing in Kirby's ears.

Kirby backed away even more.

"Kirby! Snap out of it!" Scythe's voice said again.

Kirby felt pain on his cheek.

"Where am I?" Kirby asked.

"Kirby, I'm getting you out of here!" Scythe's voice said.

Kirby was dragged along the ground by something invisible.

"No, Kirby. Stay!" said Meta Knight again.

"Kirby! Are you okay?" Scythe's voice asked.

"You are fine, Kirby, you are fine!" said Meta Knight.

"Save me!" Kirby said, struggling to speak.

"I cannot, Kirby! This is your quest to defeat darkness, not mine," said Meta Knight.

"NOOOO!" Kirby screamed, being dragged back even more.

Suddenly, Kirby snapped back into consciousness.

"Kirby!" Scythe screamed, dragging Kirby along.

"What? Scythe, I just had this weird… AUGH!" Kirby screamed, flinching.

Suddenly, the words Meta Knight spoke rang in his ears.

"This is your quest to defeat darkness, not mine. This is your quest to defeat darkness, not mine."

"Meta Knight says… defeat darkness… not him…" Kirby managed.

"What do you mean?" Scythe asked, stopping.

"Dreams… they tell me that… I defeat darkness, not him…" Kirby said.

"Dreams? What dreams?" Scythe asked.

"Dreams… of blood-stained walls… and Meta Knight stands there… he says that…" Kirby said again.

"I heard something about some monster who can control your mind at Dark Pop Star… maybe it's controlling you!" Scythe said.

Scythe quickly took Kirby to the centre room.

Suddenly, Kirby took a deep breath.

"Okay… Morphyx should be here any moment," Kirby said.

Morphyx burst in carrying the mirror.

"What happened?" Morphyx asked.

"Kirby has been victim of a monster that can control minds," Scythe said.

"You mean like that guy called Kyora?" Morphyx asked.

"Yeah, like him," Scythe said.

"Well, we need to get to Dark Pop Star!" Kirby said.

"But bear in mind we don't have the Warp Star, and we'd need to find machinery suitable for space," Morphyx said.

Kirby stared at Morphyx.

"Do you know any creatures which travel in space?" Kirby asked.

"Yes…" Morphyx said.

"Maybe we could travel on you!" Kirby said.

"I don't exactly like that idea," said Morphyx.

Everyone stared at him expectantly.

"Fine…." Morphyx said.

Morphyx quickly flashed the mirror in front of Vortex.

He then morphed into a sea serpent like creature with spikes on its back and tail.

"Cool," said Gooey, drooling.

"Hop on. I can't wait all day!" Morphyx said.

The three sat on Morphyx's back.

"Hold on tight!" Morphyx said.

Suddenly, Morphyx zoomed up through the hole in the ceiling.

"Hey, the planet looks so strange from here," Kirby said, as the four went towards Dark Pop Star.

"I thought you might've seen it before, considering the fact that you cam tumbling down from space," Scythe said, smirking.

Suddenly, Morphyx hit the ground hard like an airplane landing.

"We're here," Morphyx said, morphing back.

"Wow…" Kirby said, staring at the castle.

Off in the distance, a figure ran between two trees, aware of the visitors.

"Did I just see something move?" Kirby said, looking at the trees.

"No, or at least, I didn't see anything," said Morphyx.

A Shadow Minion's voice rang down the castle.

"I think they've noticed us," Scythe said.

The four ran behind a boulder.

Guards came rushing down to inspect, but to the four's surprise, they weren't looking for them.

They were looking for someone else.

"A man, similar in looks to Dark Meta Knight ran across the garden just then. Hey, um…. Head of security guy… um… Kyora! Do you know of anyone like that?" said a Shadow Minion.

"No… but I do know someone else that's right here right now…" said Kyora. "There are four rebels behind that boulder."

"How do you know this?" said a Shadow Minion.

"I've been asked to torture one of them who is called… Kirby."

"Run!" Scythe shouted.

**To be continued…**


	15. Chapter 15: Captured!

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Fifteen: Captured!

Rumours have spread across the big planet about Aqua Star. Apparently, it is being used by the Shadow Minions. Then again, this is only a rumour, and rumours aren't necessarily true. Or are they?

The four split up.

Kirby ran, the wind blowing past his face.

He could hear Shadow Minions off in the distance.

"We've caught him!" shouted one.

_Oh no!_Kirby thought.

Kirby ran even faster, tearing past thick bushland.

"That isn't one of them, but still, lock him up!" said Kyora.

Kirby slowed down for a second.

"Someone else?" Kirby hid behind a rock, and peered over it so he could see what was going on.

Guards huddled around one area.

"I think this is the one you saw earlier!" cried a guard to the minion in the watchtower.

Kirby stayed behind the rock, tired.

"Then there are four still on the run. I'll catch Kirby, and you look for the rest," said Kyora.

Suddenly, Kirby felt great pain in his head, as if a train had hit him at massive speeds.

Everything faded out into a silvery-white colour.

"A warrior with no strength is not a warrior, but a beggar. And a beggar with strength is a warrior," said a voice.

"What…?" Kirby said.

A bright light slowly appeared, blinding Kirby.

"Gotcha!" said another voice.

Kirby woke up in a glass jail cell, suspended by chains tied to buoys.

"Huh? What happened?" Kirby said, looking around.

There were cells like his, dangling everywhere.

Also, there was a small control panel for the cell with an intercom.

"Are you enjoying your cell?" a familiar voice asked.

"Who are you!?" Kirby shouted.

"Oh, wait! You are Kirby, are you not? Well, someone else is supposed to be in the cell with you," said the voice again.

Meta Knight appeared, unconscious.

"Meta Knight?" Kirby said, shaking Meta Knight.

"What? Where am I?" Meta Knight said, waking up.

"Hey! Meta Knight!" Kirby said, waving his hands.

"Kirby? Where have you been?" Meta Knight asked.

"Trying to collect pieces of the Warp Star," Kirby said.

"It broke!?" Meta Knight asked.

"Yeah, when it hit the asteroid, it shattered," Kirby said. "What have you been doing?"

"Trying to get past the gates without people recognising me. Some people mistook me for Dark Meta Knight, but it was very dangerous. I also managed to use the network of wires for power. It can be controlled from anywhere! Here, I'll show you," Meta Knight said.

He took out some parchment, and started to draw some lines between two planets.

"This is Dark Pop Star," Meta Knight said, pointing to the small planet, "And this is what remains of Aqua Star."

"So that means if we fiddle around with this control panel, then we could get out of here?" Kirby asked.

"Yes, we could," Meta Knight said.

He walked over to the panel, and ripped off the cover, and analysed the wires.

"Is something wrong?" Kirby asked.

"Yes. This panel takes radio signals from a different area. The buoys, however, are controlled from somewhere else," Meta Knight said, disappointingly.

"Maybe I could swallow some electricity and use its power?" Kirby suggested.

"That could work… You can swim, right?" Meta Knight asked.

"Of course!" Kirby said.

Kirby sucked in the control panel and turned into: Electric Kirby!

Kirby blasted the glass cage to bits, and floated with Meta Knight up to a small island.

When Kirby looked at his surroundings, he saw a big barrier of darkness around the buoys holding up cages.

"We'd need a powerful light item for you to swallow to break the barrier," Meta Knight said.

"I think I've got just the thing!" Kirby said, trying to spit out the light crystal.

Kirby kept on trying, but after a minute, he gave up.

"The light crystal… It's gone!" Kirby said.

"What? Where is it?" Meta Knight said.

"Trying to escape?" said the same voice that spoke in the intercom.

A small, hooded figure floated towards the two.

"Hee hee hee. No-one escapes!" said the figure, holding out a boomerang.

"Wait! You're the guy who knocked me out with a boomerang, aren't you!?" Kirby said, pointing at the person.

"My name is Xarl, if you don't mind," said Xarl.

"Let us leave or prepare for defeat!" Kirby said.

"I wouldn't count on that… since we last met, I went under a transformation, and got promoted to general!" said Xarl.

"Wait… transformation?" Meta Knight said, stepping back.

"Yes…" said Xarl, taking off his hood, revealing his head, which was made out of purple diamond.

"Isn't that the light crystal on your forehead!?" Kirby said, staring at the blue flashing crystal Xarl had embedded in his head.

"Yes! How did you guess?" Xarl said, snickering. "Prepare to die!"

"No way!" Kirby said.

He tried to suck in Xarl, but Xarl only flinched.

"Old-fashioned methods don't work anymore," Xarl said.

He kicked Kirby in the face, and Kirby went flying back into the dark barrier.

"No! You will not kill Kirby!" Meta Knight said, pulling out Galaxia.

"You're probably wondering why I didn't take Galaxia when you were imprisoned, aren't you? That's because it won't effect me!" Xarl said, snatching the sword and throwing it into the water.

"No, that cannot be!" Meta Knight said, stepping back.

Kirby scrambled back to the island.

"Just because you can hurt me doesn't mean you'll take over the world!" Kirby said, kicking Xarl in the face.

"Ignorant fool. You will pay the price!" Xarl said, unsheathing a glowing sword filled with light energy. "Now I will demonstrate real power!"

Xarl slashed Kirby, leaving a glowing scar on his face.

"What the?" Kirby said.

"My sword uses the power of the crystal as well, meaning it will destroy!" Xarl said, swishing the blade in Kirby's direction, shooting a powerful crescent shaped beam at Kirby.

Kirby felt back, dizzy.

"Hee hee hee. Even though master would not like it, I could finish you off now!" Xarl said, grinning.

Xarl approached for a final blow.

"Kirby! No!" Meta Knight said, pulling out a dark crystal and throwing it at Kirby's mouth.

Kirby began to change.

His body turned a dark black colour and his eyes turned red, he had glistening fangs and a torrent of black flame on his head like a crown.

He was Dark Kirby!

Kirby grinned evilly, in a trance.

"What the!? How is this possible!? How could you get hold of it!?" Xarl cried, backing away.

"I took it from under your noses, when you were concentrating on getting Kirby to the sand chambers. You win some, you lose some," Meta Knight said, throwing a sword at Kirby's mouth.

Kirby swallowed the sword, and changed again.

This time, a giant black cloud shrouded sword appeared in his hand.

He was Dark Sword Kirby!

Kirby stepped towards Xarl, smiling.

He slashed Xarl in the chest, and Xarl fell.

Kirby laughed.

"No… I… surrender… I will no longer be part of this war…" Xarl managed, gasping for air.

"Spit out the crystal, Kirby!" Meta Knight shouted.

Kirby turned to face Meta Knight scowling.

He approached Meta Knight, with an angry look on his face.

Meta Knight was frozen with shock, when he suddenly jumped into the water.

Meta Knight searched and searched for Galaxia, eventually rising to the surface with the blade.

Kirby was still standing there, holding his sword.

Meta Knight sneaked behind him, and slashed Kirby in the back, forcing him to spit out the crystal and lose his ability.

"What was that?" Kirby said, snapping out of the trance.

"It was the Dark Crystal," Meta Knight said.

"The whata?" Kirby asked.

"The Dark Crystal. I figure that because there's a Light Crystal in our world, then there'd be a Dark Crystal in our parallel world, right?" Meta Knight said.

"Yes…" Kirby said, nodding.

"I overheard some minions talking about its power. It takes control of its holder, if the holder is using the crystal for power. Darkness takes over if this crystal is used, and I think that's what happened to you!" Meta Knight said.

"You mean I need to control myself when using this crystal?" Kirby asked.

"Yup," Meta Knight said.

Kirby and Meta Knight turned to Xarl, who was on the ground, covering his wounds.

"Um… we need the crystal back," Kirby said.

"Okay… but first… how did you get the Dark Crystal?" Xarl asked.

"I stole it when you weren't looking," Meta Knight said.

"Oh… but our security was so high!" Xarl said.

"People thought I was Dark Meta Knight," Meta Knight said.

The Light Crystal glowed faintly in Xarl's head, and it plopped out and fell on the ground.

Xarl returned to his normal Dreamlander shape.

"Without the crystal I am powerless, because I put all the power Dark Matter gave me in it. I will no longer be part of this war… please spare my life," Xarl said, helplessly.

"Did you ever think we were going to kill you? You've got to be kidding!" Kirby said.

Kirby swallowed the Light Crystal, becoming Light Kirby, and broke the dark barrier.

Kirby and Meta Knight swam across to a big island that was just in view.

**At Dark Pop Star…**

"What do you mean, the Dark Crystal's gone!?" Dark Matter screamed.

"Master, it just disappeared! I don't know what happened!" cried a Shadow Minion.

"The Dark Crystal can't just disappear!" Dark Matter said.

"Excuse me, master? The last person to go into the room with the Dark Crystal, was High General Dark Meta Knight! But in the tapes of the security, he doesn't look the same as usual…" said another Shadow Minion.

"Didn't look the same?" Dark Matter said.

Dark Matter paused.

"Squad 5, go to Room 18. Use a computer to find Meta Knight; he has a tracking device on his sword," Dark Matter said.

"Meta Knight is currently on the island called Pyrox," said a Shadow Minion.

"Find him; capture him. Do the same with Kirby."


	16. Chapter 16: Wings of the Dragon

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Sixteen: Wings of the Dragon

Aqua Star is a big place, and everyone knows that. However, not all islands have the same climates, and some don't even have names! Each island also has different kinds of fish. In the more tropical climates, there are usually exotic fish. However, in icy climates, fish are small but deadly.

Scythe, Gooey and Morphyx woke up in the middle of a baron landscape.

"How did we get here?" Gooey said, jumping a bit.

"I don't know, but this doesn't look good," Scythe said.

"We're on the island called Pyro; we must have run into a teleport or something while we were running," Morphyx said, brushing dust off his arms.

"We split up! That's impossible!" Gooey said.

"The teleport must have covered a big area," Morphyx said.

"Wait. If we're on Pyro, that means that we're on a volcanic island. Or to be more exact, a half submerged volcano," Scythe said.

"Thanks for putting our hopes down," Morphyx said, sighing.

"We need to get to a safer island- and we need to find Kirby," Scythe said. "I heard the Shadow Minions catch two people, but three of us are here, meaning that Kirby and someone else-"

Scythe paused for a second.

"Kirby's on the island Rianann. Morphyx, can you morph into a sea serpent or something?" Scythe asked.

"Yes," Morphyx said.

"Then let's go!" Scythe said.

**Back with Kirby…**

"Where are we?" Kirby asked, climbing onto the shore.

"I'm not sure. But by the looks of the volcano, I think this is a volcanic island," Meta Knight said, looking at the volcano.

"I never would've guessed!" Kirby said.

Kirby and Meta Knight walked around the island, searching for a sign of life.

But there was nothing, except for a tiny unordinary groove in the surface of part of the beach.

"That's odd. Maybe it was erosion or something?" Kirby asked.

Kirby and Meta Knight kept on walking along, until they got to a wall of flame.

Kirby walked around the wall with Meta Knight, and they both saw Scythe, Morphyx and Gooey talking.

"Hey, guys!" Kirby said, waving his arms.

"Kirby? Where were you?" Scythe asked.

"We were imprisoned, but broke out. What about you?" Kirby said.

"We went through a teleport. And who's he?" Morphyx asked, pointing at Meta Knight.

"I am Meta Knight. I thought you might have known me, considering that Gooey is here. It also looks like you work at Dark Pop Star, am I correct?" Meta Knight said, looking sternly at Morphyx and Scythe.

"We work_ed _at Dark Pop Star. Now we are rebelling against the forces of Dark Matter," Morphyx said.

"Guys? If Kirby broke out of a prison, then that means reinforcements are coming, right?" Gooey said.

Something in the bushes rustled.  
"Run!" Kirby shouted, running away.

"Kirby, stop!" Morphyx said, turning into a dragon.

Scythe, Gooey and Meta Knight hopped on Morphyx's back, and Morphyx flew at Kirby, trying to catch him between the claws on his feet.

"We need to run!" Kirby said.

"No! The Shadow Minions are surrounding us on every side except for the water! Hop on my back! We need to fly off!" Morphyx said, catching Kirby.

Kirby floated onto Morphyx's back, as Morphyx flew away from the island.

Suddenly, the ground trembled, knocking Morphyx into the water.

"Morphyx!" Kirby said, trying to lift him up.

Morphyx turned back into his normal shape, and stared at the volcano.

It was erupting!

Shadow Minions used this time to chase down Kirby, when Meta Knight jumped in the way, attacking the minions.

Kirby swallowed the Light Crystal, and turned into: Light Kirby!

"Hiya!" Kirby said, kicking minions away, into the magma that flowed down the volcano.

Kirby felt claws grabbing onto his arms.

Kirby looked above, and saw Morphyx, Scythe and Gooey, with Meta Knight hanging on the tail.

"Quick! If we don't leave soon, the army will kill u-" Scythe said, cut off by a roar.

A dragon about five times bigger than Morphyx flew out of the sky, soaring down towards the Shadow Minions and Kirby.

Morphyx concentrated for a moment, and then he grew into the other dragon, but morphed back, as if forced.

"Something's negating my ability to morph into that dragon!" Morphyx said, flying higher.

Kirby jumped off, dumped his ability, floated towards the dragon, and grabbed onto one of the spikes on its back.

He climbed slowly up the dragon's back, dodging fireballs shot at him from the dragon's mouth.

"Aha!" Kirby said, looking at the glowing stone on the back of the dragon's head.

Kirby pulled out the stone, and swallowed it, using its power.

He was: Fire Kirby!

The dragon grew smaller and smaller and turned into a Shadow Minion, which Kirby recognised, not as a Shadow Minion, but a person…

"Kirby? What are you staring at?" Scythe asked, impatiently.

"The person who the dragon shrank into… looks like me…" Kirby said.

"What do you mean?" Gooey asked.

"Kirby, come here. I have something to tell you," Meta Knight said.

Kirby floated onto Morphyx's back, and Morphyx started to fly away.

"You know how this parallel world is opposite to ours?" Meta Knight said.

"Yes…" Kirby said, nodding.

"Well, like there is a Dark Meta Knight, there is also a Dark Kirby, or so I think. And you know how you have no knowledge of some of your greater powers?" Meta Knight asked.

"Yeah…?" Kirby asked.

"Dark Matter must've trained Dark Kirby, unleashing his new abilities, which are greater than you think. You are defenceless against Dark Kirby, meaning we are as well. We need to have greater power, something that could destroy anything, not necessarily easily, but could," Meta Knight said.

"Are you saying we should fuse the Dark Crystal and the Light Crystal together to create a deadly source of power?" Kirby asked.

"Yes… I am afraid so…" Meta Knight said.

"There is no way to combine light and shadow, being opposites. We need something to combine the crystals!" Kirby said.

"Guys? There's a giant barrier of some ancient magic that I can't break, and you probably couldn't either, Kirby," Morphyx said.

Morphyx flew in the opposite direction, only to find another dead end.

"We can't get through at all!" Morphyx said.

"That's very annoying," Kirby said.

Suddenly, Morphyx fell through the air, an arrow stuck on the side of his torso.

The five fell to an island below.

**In Dark Pop Star…**

"What do you mean, need more training!?" Dark Matter screamed.

"I failed, what do you think?" a figure said.

"You said you were ready," Dark Matter said.

"You said it was an emergency!" the figure said.

"You said that you would be prepared at all costs!" Dark Matter said.

"You said that I was prepared for anything; you are quite blind with your one eye," said the figure snickering.

"Fine! But stop making jokes about my eye. I could kill you, you know?" Dark Matter said sighing.

**In Aqua Star…**

"Wha?" Kirby asked, waking up.

Kirby looked around at the snowy landscape.

He felt a pain in his head.

Then he saw a Shadow Minion with a hood standing next to him.

"Hee hee hee… These will be the final days that this bad excuse for a planet exists," the minion said.

"Yes... it is sad to see the Star Planet go. Speaking of which, where are your friends?" asked Dark Kirby.

"They're somewhere on the planet," said the minion.

"Looking for the Warp Star shard, probably," Dark Kirby said, holding up a Warp Star shard and snickering.

"I must say, it was also a shame that we lost the Dark Shapeshifter," said the minion.

"A shame? He was worthless. And anyway, you deserved your title more than him… High General Kirby," said Dark Kirby.

Suddenly, the minion and Dark Kirby disappeared.

Kirby collapsed.

**To be continued…**


	17. Chapter 17: One loss, one suspicion

**Darkness Unleashed**

Chapter Seventeen: One loss, one suspicion

_**Note: Longer chapter because I haven't updated for ages.**_

Kirby woke up.

He was in a frozen lake, cracking very slowly.

He ran around, looking for his friends.

"Kirby?" said a voice.

Kirby turned around, startled.

There was Kyora, standing there.

She had fangs, purple robes and a Dreamlander like, dark coloured body.

"It is not Gooey, but I, Kyora," said the Shadow Minion. "It's interesting seeing you for the first time… yet I already knew so much…"

Kirby attempted to spit out the Light Crystal then inhale it again, but a pain in his head hit him like a bullet, causing him to fall on the ground.

"Don't try it, Kirby. You may be much stronger than me, but I have other tricks," Kyora said, smiling.

"I have friends…" Kirby managed.

"I have armies," Kyora said, moving back.

She stopped.

Kyora felt the cold feeling of a blade on her neck.

"Don't let your guard down, Kyora. As cunning as you think you are, you are still a mere Shadow Minion," said Meta Knight, holding a blade around her neck.

"Shadow Minions have more power than you could imagine," she said, flicking her snake like tongue out.

Kirby stood up, and spat out the two crystals he held.

"Would it be possible for me to use both of these crystal's powers at the same time?" Kirby asked Meta Knight.

"Be careful. The Dark Crystal is more powerful than all the Star Warriors combined," Meta Knight said.

"You filthy Star Warriors only destroyed Nightmare, a pathetic demon. Dark Matter even said that himself!" Kyora taunted. "Wait – All except you two died in a weak demon's hands. You Star Warriors are a bad excuse for beings."

Kirby inhaled the two gems.

A black cape appeared on his back, a sword of light appeared on one hand, and a dark sword on the other.

"This form… Eclipse Kirby," Meta Knight said, blinking.

"This feels different," Kirby said.

Suddenly, he screamed.

His body turned black, fangs shot out of his mouth and a crown of black fire appeared on his head.

"No… it can't be…" Meta Knight said.

Kirby smiled in a way that looked evil.

He walked towards Kyora.

"Many Star Warriors didn't survive, but the remaining are all powerful. They are strong. They possess power that almost nobody could get hold of," Kirby said, in a deep, evil voice.

"Don't let the power overwhelm you, Kirby. Stay calm…" Meta Knight said, pulling the sword away from Kyora and stepping back. "We almost failed against Xarl, Kirby. We are still weak."

Kirby glanced up, showing no expression.

"Didn't you hear me? I said the _remaining_ Star Warriors," Kirby said, smiling.

He ran at the speed of light at Meta Knight, and charged his light sword with dark energy.

"I am the only Star Warrior!"

Kirby started to swing the sword, when suddenly, he was forced onto the wall by a shuriken.

Morphyx, Gooey and Scythe stood there.

"What in the world happened!?" Morphyx exclaimed.

"I guess we got here in the nick of time," Scythe remarked.

**Later, on the frozen lake…**

Kirby spat out the crystal, which was still trying to possess him.

"The crystal is normal, except there is a dark barrier around it," Meta Knight said. "Why is this so?"

"I dunno. Every time I dump an ability, it usually disappears," Kirby said.

"Kirby… you combined the two crystals… meaning your powers have evolved, changed…" Meta Knight said.

"That can't be! I still have 2495 or so years to go!" Kirby said.

"Dark Kirby was trained. In all the battles you've had, you ought to have gotten something out of them," Scythe pointed out.

"Where is Kyora anyway?" Kirby asked.

"She must've gotten away," Meta Knight said.

"Is that exactly a bad thing? If Kirby can use his uber powers with the gems, he could block out Kyora's dreams, right?" Gooey suggested.

"Right, but Kirby cannot control how he uses the gems' powers, thus making him weak to Kyora," Meta Knight said. "We need a better plan."

"Take down Kyora?" Morphyx suggested.

"Her power can affect almost anyone. We need a _better _plan," Meta Knight sighed.

"Kyora can give painful dreams, or just pain itself. Except she doesn't know we _are _wherever we are. She only located me before because Dark Matter showed her. We need to sneak up on Kyora and destroy her. Demons aren't all that smart, you know," Kirby said.

Meta Knight considered this for a moment.

"It would work, except we only have so much space…" Meta Knight said, slowing down.

Kirby whispered something to all of the group.

"Sadly, you are slightly too late. Any last words?" Kyora said, standing behind Meta Knight.

Meta Knight turned around.

"No, actually. Because we aren't the ones that are going to die," Meta Knight said, using a hand sign towards Scythe.

Scythe pulled out a shuriken and threw it at Gooey and Kirby's mouth, turning them into… Ninja Gooey and Ninja Kirby!

The three ran, splitting up.

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" Kyora said, smiling.

She unsheathed a sword hidden in her robes.

"In fact, I am," Meta Knight said, swinging Galaxia at Kyora.

Kyora dodged, and threw a shuriken at Meta Knight.

"Your life is over as it is," she grimaced, approaching Meta Knight, who was dodging at the time.

Suddenly, Scythe slashed Kyora while jumping from one of the small, icy cliffs above.

"You fool," Kyora said, swinging at Scythe.

By that time, Scythe had already disappeared.

"You may be cunning, but I am more!" Kyora said, swinging the sword again.

**On top of the cliffs…**

"Where is Morphyx? Didn't he hear the plan?" Kirby said to Scythe.

"He did. You know how I always had suspicions about him?" Scythe said.

"Yeah, what about it?" Gooey said.

"He is going to try to get rid of Meta Knight. We won't do anything, though, because we are still weak against him. Meta Knight will survive, I told him what would happen," Scythe said.

"Gooey, we'll both attack Kyora at the same time," Kirby said.

**Down on the frozen lake…**

Gooey and Kirby hit Kyora while jumping down.

"Why don't they see that they are causing me no harm?" Kyora said, swinging the sword.

"Stop holding back the pain, Kyora. I know how it feels like that," Meta Knight said, swinging Galaxia. "Back when I fought along side Star Warriors."

"Don't keep talking about Star Warriors. It makes me feel sick that you care," Kyora said, swinging her sword.

A dagger flew at her, and she dodged.

"Is this an invitation to the party, now?" Kyora smirked as she jumped onto one of the cliff sides.

"She's coming! Split up!" Kirby said, running.

"Too late, Kirby. Time's up!" Kyora screamed, charging energy into her sword.

"Kirby! No!" Scythe said, throwing a shuriken at Kyora.

When the shuriken was about to hit her, she turned around, and the shuriken fell.

"How is that even possible!?" Gooey exclaimed, running backwards.

Kyora swang the sword at Gooey and Scythe, and a beam of lightning came out of the blade, hitting the two and making them fall off the cliff onto the land below.

"Now it is your turn, Kirby!"

Kyora swang the blade at Kirby, and he fell onto the ice below.

She jumped down back to Meta Knight.

"Where were we? Oh yes, I was about to kill you!" Kyora screamed, slashing at Meta Knight.

Meta Knight sheathed Galaxia when dodging, then pulled out a flaming sword.

"I am sad to say that it is your turn to die!" Meta Knight said, sending a torrent of flame at the frozen lake.

"You look like you have improved," Kyora said, on the floating piece of ice she was on. "Of course, you haven't!"

Kyora swang her sword at Meta Knight, missing by an inch.

Meta Knight jumped onto another floating piece of ice, and held up his sword.

"Don't even think about it!" Kyora said, running at him.

Meta Knight planted the flaming sword into the ice, and then, suddenly, an inferno of flame came from the sword, destroying the whole frozen part of the lake and all in it, except for Meta Knight, himself.

Kyora's body had been destroyed by the inferno.

Either that or she had teleported away.

"Meta Knight, you just more or less destroyed the island," Kirby said, while Meta Knight just raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, an invisible force pushed Meta Knight back into the lake.

"Morphyx…" Scythe mouthed.


End file.
